Comb



Patented dan. 1G, 1933 mmm PHLP ROCHER', 0F BALTIMORE,

assegni MARYLAND COMB Application filed IFebruary 26, 1932. Serial No.595,281.

This invention relates to combs, and especially to a comb for combingand exercising the hair on a persons head.

One object of my invention is to provide 5 an improved hair-comb thatexerts first a wedging action and next a firm and uniform tractioneffectupon the hair shafts without tearing or jamming the hair and thusto act gymnastically upon the several related factors of the hair andscalp, to stimulate blood circulation in the scalp, to render the tightthin and dry condition of the scalp loose and iexible, to extract thedischarged dead hair from the follicle, without injury to those hairswhich are i-n active and healthy condition, to loosen and removedandrnff, dust and dirt, while obviating the tearing and breaking of thehair by jamming and tightly holding the hair, and to prevent theclogging of dirt and grease between the teeth at their base.

The details of this invention are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure l is an enlarged side elevation of a comb which is constructed in'accordance with lthis invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Referring to this drawing in det-ail, in

which similar reference characters refer to similar parts in both views,the details of the invention are now described as follows:

The back or base 5 is united with one or more sets of teeth 6, and allof such teeth may be of the same size and shape, or of diderent Vsizesand dimensions, while having the same general shape, and adapted toperform the same functions. In the present illustration, i have showntwo sets of teeth 6, the teeth of one set being larger or coarser thanthose of the other set. The purpose of making the comb with two sets ofteeth, as shown, is to make it applicable for hair which is rela- Ftively fine and thin and for hair that is reld atively coarse and thick,as will become more apparent as the construction of the comb is betterunderstood. However, instead of making a comb with teeth of differentsizes, it is within the scope of this invention to make each comb withteeth of a uniform size, and to make different combs with different sizeteeth.

rlhe novel and important feature of this comb lies in the shape of theteeth, in their spaced relation to one another, and in the junctions ofthe teeth with the head or base 5. 'Vith reference to the shape of theteeth, it will be observed that they have parallel complementalintermediate surfaces 9 which are very closely spaced from one anotherand extend considerable distances 'inward and outward from the middle ofthe respective teeth; the outer free end portion 6 of each tooth beingwedge-shaped or outwardly converging, so their complemental surfaces l0converge to the closely spaced surfaces 9 and merge therewith. The innerend portion of each tooth is wedge-shaped, so that the complementalsurfaces 8 of these inner end portions diverge inwardly or toward thebase 5 where they merge with cross-curved or convex-concave surfaces7-7a of the head or base 5. Each of these convex-concave surfaces isupwardly or outwardly concaved, as shown in Fig. l, and has two oppositeedges merging with two adjacent complemental inwardly diverging innerend surfaces 8, while its other two opposite edges are converted andmerge with the lateral sides of the head 5, as shown at Ta in Fig. 2.This formation of the head, at the bases of the teeth, and therebetween,appears to be quite novel, so no single word is found to describe it,and therefore, the coined compound word convex-concave is used and seemsquite appropriate. Such convex-concave surfaces entirely eliminate sharpedges or corners at the bases of the teeth, and thereby eliminate thedetrimental edects that such sharp edges or corners have on the hairshafts.

Between the outer ends 1l of the teeth, and between the complementalsurfaces 10, outwardly flared spaces 12 are provided to receiverelatively large groups of hair shafts as the ends 1l are forced or passbetween such groups; and the complemental inwardly converging surfacesl0 wedge and compress'the groups of hair shafts more and more until theyenter the narrow space between the complemental intermediate parallelsurfaces 9 whereby a sliding and limited pulling of the hair shafts iseffected while the latter pass from the outer end to the inner end ofeach pair of complemental intermediate parallel surfaces and until thehair shafts enter the widening spaces between the pairs of cornplementalinwardly diverging surfaces 8, whereupon the hair shafts are releasedfrom the grip or holding effect of the teeth and permitted to pass out,easily, freely and unbroken, from between the bases of the teeth.

It is evident that a comb of this kind can be manufactured from variouskinds of materials, and either stamped and pressed into shape, mouldedor formed by cutting tools, or by a combination of such devices.

To facilitate a full and clear understanding of the advantages of myimproved comb, over the usual form of combs, I mention the followingdistinctions:

The perpendicular outside face structure of the teeth from point to baseof combs currently in use are practically uniform; and their dimensionsof interspaces from point to base between the teeth are virtuallyequidistant. I find that combs with teeth and interspaces so constructedfail to act upon the hair effectively. The hair received at the pointpasses through this equidistant interspace, and is delivered freely atthe base without any traction effect on the hair shaft. The practicaluse of such a comb is confined to disentangling and dressing of thehair.

A firm and uniform traction effect, wanting in the ordinary comb, isobtained in my comb by teeth which are wedge shaped on both ends, pointand junction. A certain quantity of hair, received in the relativelywide openings at the points of my combteeth, is tractionally acted uponfirmly and uniformly by being passed through the gra-dually reducedinterspaces, which, after developing the greatest tension in the narrowintermediate part of the interspace, releases its grip on the hairshafts as they pass into the interspaccs between the teeth at theirjunction with the head 5.

These novel teeth and interspaces augment the utility of my combvariously. Besides serving as a utensil to arrange and disentangle thehair as does the ordinary comb; my comb, by its firm and uniformtraction efl'ect upon the hair shafts, acts at once to exercise the hairroots, to stimulate circulation, to loosen the tight, thin, and drycondition of the scalp, and to free the follicle from the obstruction ofthe discharged dead hair by extracting it.

I also observe that the ordinary comb, particularly those with closelyset teeth collect dirt andV grease freely, and require frequentcleaning; and that this equidistanee, from point to base between theteeth, permits the hair to be jammed and often injured by a sharp andsolid base. In my comb the clogging of matter between the teeth at theirbase is obviated, by an enlarged interspace between the teeth, at theirjunction.

Although I have described this embodiment of my invention quitespecifically, I do not intend to limit my patent protection to theseexact details of construction, for the invention is susceptible ofnumerous changes within the scope of the inventive ideas as implied andclaimed.

lVhat I claim as my invention is 1. A comb comprising a series of teethhaving adjacent complemental parallel intermediate surfaces, outwardlydiverging complemental outer end surfaces merging with said parallelintermediate surfaces, and inwardly diverging complemental inner endsurfaces merging with said intermediate surfaces and with curvedsurfaces which extend from the base of each tooth to its next adjacenttooth.

2. A comb consisting of a head and a single row of teeth integrallyunited with one another, said teeth having complemental intermediatesurfaces which are so closely spaced from one another as to wedginglyclamp and frictionally engage with groups of hair shafts and therebypull the hairs that slide therebetween and thus remove dead hairs anddandruft' while stimulating the scalp by the pulling of the live hairswithout removing the latter from the scalp, said teeth havingcomplemental outer end surfaces which are widely spaced from one anotherat their extreme outer ends and converge thence toward and merge withthe complemental intermediate closely spaced surfaces for leading andgradually compressing the groups of hair shafts into the space betweenthe said closely spaced surfaces, said teeth having complemental innerend surfaces which merge with said complemental narrowly spaced surfacesand diverge therefrom towards said head and thereby provide clearancespaces wherein the clamping frictional engagement of the hair shafts isrelieved to permit the hair shafts to pass freely and unbroken frombetween the inner ends of the teeth.

3. The structure defined by claim 2, said complemental intermediateclosely spaced surfaces extending considerable distances inward andoutward from the middle parts of the respective teeth and being parallelthroughout their length, for prolonging the said frctional engagement ofthe hair shafts. 4. The structure defined by claim 2, said head havingsurfaces which are coneaved from one of said teeth to another of saidteeth and merge with adjacent inner end surfaces, and these eoncavedsurfaces having eonvexed edges that merge With the opposite sides of thesaid head, thereby eliminating sharp edges and corners which would tendto mar the hair shafts as the latter pass from between the bases of theteeth.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

PHILIP KO CHER.

